Pets

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A boy is critical after being stuck inside a home that caught fire in Mandarin, according to Jacksonville Fire and Rescue spokesperson Tom Francis.

Fire crews rescued the young man and a dog from the burning home, and Francis said it appears the fire started in the kitchen. The child went to Baptist Hospital downtown to receive treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, Francis said.

The fire broke out in the 10500 block of Indian Walk Road at about 4 p.m., and Francis said that closed Hartley Road for a short period of time.

The Jacksonville Humane Society (JHS) is reminding pet owners to protect their animals this Halloween.

“While Halloween is really fun for people, it can be truly scary for cats and dogs,” said Leona Sheddan, executive director of the Jacksonville Humane Society. “Many animals get sick or go missing during holidays, especially ones like Halloween when families are repeatedly opening the door to trick-or-treaters.”

USA Today - By the early 1990s there were only 20 to 25 Florida panthers left out of what was once a large and thriving population – and those that remained were sickly and inbred, destined for extinction within 20 years, experts estimated. So in 1995 conservation managers moved eight wild-caught female pumas from Texas to the area – a reintroduction so successful that between 1995 and 2008 a total of 424 panther births have been documented.